Beet-topper



A. H. BALLARD.

BEET TOPPER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1919.

1,344,849. Patented June 29, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

// lip! \A A A A A LLAMA! AMATAA A. H. BALLARD.

BEET TOPPER.

APPLICAUON FILED JuNE23. 1919.

1 344:, 849 Patented June 29, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l i .Mm IM 3M nvefntoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ASA H. BALLARD, OF FORT MORGAN, COLORADO.

BEET-TOPPER.

To all whom t may concer/a Be it known thatr I, Asti H. BALLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at F ort Morgan, county of Morgan, and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Beet-Toppers, and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact` description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reii'erence marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhis invention relates to devices used in harvesting beets, and particularly to a device for stopping the beets and loading them.

The object of the invention is to shorten the ordinary process of handling beets in the field, and is designed to eliminate the several movements of hand labor which consist, after lifting the beets, of obtaining a hold to present the top to be cut, of' cutting oil' the top with a knife, throwing the beets in a pile and subsequently loading them by hand. With the present invention, the beets, after being pulled, are merely lifted and placed in position on the machine, The machine then automatically carries them past a cutter, cuts off the tops and discharges them into a wagon or other suitable receptacle.

Brieiiy, the invention comprises a truck, having a framework carrying endless con veyers provided with pockets to receive the beets, means to move said conveyers, knives reciprocating in synchronisnr with the conveyers, means to reciprocate the knives to remove the tops, and means to hold the beets while the knives are removing the tops.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of the im` p rovement Fig. 2 is a plan thereof;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail elevation, taken from the line of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail end elevation, showing the beet-engaging and cutting` means, and is taken from the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a further detail, showing the beet-holding means, taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

A truck framework 10 is provided Vwith low wheels l2, positioned beneath the frame- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 29, 1920.

Application filed June 23, 1919.

Serial No. 306,169.

work, the iframe carrying a plurality of drums 14, ournaled at l5, over which drums endless chain conveyers 16 pass. The chain conveyers 16 are provided with blocks '18, cut out at the sides and slightly spaced on the chain 16, as indicated at 19, whereby dirt may fall through the chain, the shape of the blocks providing pockets 20 therebetween, in which the beets B are received.

An engine 22 or other suitable means for providing power is mounted upon the framework and is provided with flywheels Q4, and a gear 26, over which a chain 28 passes, a sprocket 3() being mounted upon a shaft 82, journaled in standards 33. The shaft 32 carries another sprocket 34, over which passes a chain 36, extending to a sprocket 38 mounted on a shaft 40, ycarrying the drums 14 at one end of the machine. The drums 14 at the opposite end of the inachine receive power by means of sprocket 42, mounted on shaft 40, over which the endless chain 44 extends, the latter engaging gear 46, mounted on shaft 48, at the opposite end of the machine and upon which the drums 14 at said opposite end are mounted.

An eccentric 50 is connected with the shaft 8:2 and suitably geared down by any means (not shown), the eccentric 50 being provided with a pitman 52 connected with a vertically reciprocating rod 54, passing through guide sleeve 56 on bracket 58, which is connected with one of the standards 33. The lower end of the rod 54 is provided with a knife 60. A second guide sleeve 62 is provided on bracket 58, and through this sleeve a vertically disposed rod 64 passes the lower end of said rod 64, being forked at 66 to engage the beets during the cutting opera tion. The upper end of the rod 64 is reduced, as shown at 68, and about this reduced portion a spring 70 is mounted, the lower end of which engages the shoulder 72 of the rod, the upper end being engaged by an arm 74, projecting from the reciprocating knife-carrying rod 54.

The arm 74 is retained in engagement with the spring 70 by means of nut 76, provided on the upper end of reduced portion 68.

In using the machine, a few rows of beets are first pulled on each side of the machine, the machine being drawn up between the rows. The beets are lifted by hand and placed in the pockets 20 upon the conveyers 16. As the beets are carried past the knife 60, the latter reciprocates to remove the tops. The reciprocation of the knife 60 is so timed that it takes place as each pocket passes the knife. As the rod t, which carries the knife GO, falls, the arm 74 engaging the spring 7() forces down the rod 64 and fork 6G into engagement with the tip of the beet. rIhe spring 70, however, is weak enough to yield under the pressure of the arm 74k after the fork 6G engages the beet, so that the arm 74 can continue its downward move* ment with the knife 60 to remove the top of the beet. In this manner, rocking of the beet in thepocket 20 is prevented during the cutting operation. After the top has been removed, the knife 60 is elevated, carrying with it the arm 74, which engages the nut 7G in its upward movement, thereby also elevating the rod 64 and withdrawing it from the pocket 20. The beets, after being topped, are discharged into a wagon or other receptacle.

I claim:

l. In a beet-topping device, a conveyer having pockets thereon adapted to receive the beets, a knife arranged to reciprocate in synchronism with the movement of said conveyer to remove the tops as the pockets pass the knife, a rod upon which said knife is mounted, a reciprocating rod movable in conjunction with said knife-carrying rod and having means to engage the beets dur? ing the cutting operation, and a connection between said rods whereby the latter are movable together.

2. In a beet-topping device, a conveyer having pockets thereon adapted to receive the beets, a knife arranged to reciprocate in synchronism with the movement of said conveyer to remove the tops as the pockets pass the knife, a rod upon which said knife is mounted, a reciprocating rod movable in conjunction with said knife-carrying rod and having means to engage the beets dur ing the cutting operation, and a connection between said rods whereby the latter are movable together, said means comprising a spring mounted upon the rod carrying said beet-.engaging means and an arm projectingl from said knife-carrying rod and engaging said spring.

3, In a beet-topping device, a conveyer having pockets thereon adapted to receive the beets, a knife arranged to reciprocate in synchronism with the movement of said conveyer to remove the tops as the pockets pass the knife, a rod upon which said knife is mounted, a reciprocating rod movable in conjunction with said knife-carrying rod, and having means to engage the beets during the cutting operation, and means for moving the two rods together.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

ASA H. BALLARD. 

